Blair: Backing for Lord Simon

Blair Outraged over "Vile" Campaign against Minister

After angry exchanges at Question-Time over the minister's remaining BP share-portfolio, the leaders traded letters.

Mr Blair dared Mr Hague to make his charges publicly without the legal protection of Parliamentary privilege. The Tory leader hit back, firing off his own letter to Mr Blair containing five questions about potential conflicts of interest.

Earlier, in the most bitter Commons exchanges so far, Mr Blair accused the Tories of mounting a "vile and scurrilous campaign" against Lord Simon. He angrily insisted the millionaire former BP chairman had behaved with "complete propriety."

But Mr Hague said it was hypocritical of the Government to criticise the use of offshore trusts when Lord Simon had invested a million pounds in one to avoid tax.

BBC Political Correspondent Lance Price reports on a stormy PMQs
Dur: 2'38"

"Isn't there a strong smell of hypocrisy coming from the Labour benches," thundered Mr Hague. "Do you recall your policy statement three years ago, which said all governments owe it to their people to take action against the persistent few who shelter their wealth overseas and made specific reference to Jersey."

Hague: "Smell of hypocrisy from Labour benches"

"Isn't it breathtaking hypocrisy to criticise that and then for one of your ministers to take advantage of that? "Isn't it time members of the Government stopped preaching one thing and doing another!" said the opposition leader.

As the row over Lord Simon's role in the Government escalated, Mr Blair retorted that the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe had given up earning hundreds of thousands of pounds a year to serve unpaid in the Government.

"I don't think there has been any more vile and scurrilous campaign than the one mounted against David Simon," said Mr Blair. "This is a man who has given up earning hundreds of thousands of pounds a year to come in and serve the Government and to give public service."

"He has done so without any payment at all and instead of vilifying him the Conservative Party should be supporting that initiative," continued the prime minister. "It only shows how remote they are from the business community that they should attack him in that way."